132 THE SALT OF MY LIFE 



Railway Department, makes nine small heaps of 

 the bait, one for each member present and one 

 for the skipper, and next chalks eight places along 

 the gunwale on the port side. The skipper fishes 

 from the bridge, and it is the particular care of 

 him whose place is just beneath to keep his features 



THE NANNYGAI 



clear of fish swinging on their way aloft. By the 

 time these preliminaries are through, day has 

 got the upper hand, and we can see as far as the 

 first bend of the Hawkesbury estuary. Every- 

 one takes a place on the port side, according to 

 the number he|has drawn from a hat, and this, 

 of course, gives the steamer a perceptible list. 

 We are about^ajnile off the land, and the tug, her 

 bow pointing to the beach, drifts north ; all the 

 lines will drift^out towards the south. Hooks are 



